This would be brilliant. Everyone’s rushing around stumbling over PS4 and Xbox 720 and – hello – in comes Apple with an official controller for the iPad and iPhone.
Sure, it’s hardly official – basically a slightly throwaway comment as part of a review – but it’s starting to gain a little bit of traction now and – let’s be honest – this would really upset the applecart. If you’ll excuse the pun.
“While controller support in Android in its infancy at best, it’s more than iOS currently offers,” said the original author, Anand Lal Shimpi.
“I know of an internal Apple project to bring a physical controller to market, but whether or not it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen.”
I’ve played with the iCADE and it’s great, but an official one would garner much more developer support and would – finally – put a stop to the naysayers who think touch controls were invented by some hideous underworld entity.
We’ll see.
Tuffcub
Brilliant, a controller that you cant fit in your pocket to go with the iPad you can’t fit in your pocket.
cc_star
What’s pocket got to do with it, when you just beam the picture to your TV & if you’re not near your TV… in a hotel or something just play on the device.
Tuffcub
Or… just use the console that’s already attached to said TV with a very handy controller! To play games built for controllers, not Angry Birds Space.. Controllerised!
Bilbo_bobbins
ipad and controllers no no. Its there to touch, thats the gimmick, you take that away and it loses its appeal.
Stick to what you do best. If I want to play a game with a controller, I will play on a console.
cc_star
You should have a look at games available for mobiles, you could be missing out.
Shadowgun, Riptide GP, Bladeslinger, Soulcraft, Combat Arms: Zombies DaVinci THD All of which look amazing & rival any console game apart from perhaps an elite couple, but when you consider that these games range from free to two or three pounds, you see that home consoles supported by licence fees paid by £40 retail boxed games are in danger of seeing the size of their possible market shrinking.
I like quickplay games like Angry Birds etc, but there’s a whole lot more out there, they work fine on X360 or PS3 controllers at the moment on Android but if Apple are going to launch a controller then with their might & massive backing by developers it could go mainstream.
bigbaldwolf
For them to bring out a controller is almost an admission that touch controls aren’t as good as people say they are. I would still rather play on a console than an ipad
cc_star
Not really, it’s just that the capability of the tech available in mobile form-factors is now at such a level where console-class games are a reality.
djhsecondnature
“the capability of the tech available in mobile form-factors is now at such a level where console-class games are a reality”
They’re not even close. Two games have graphics close but their AI and gameplay are far, far poorer. It’ll be five years until mobile games come close to the console games of today – let alone then.
Cadabena
I think a much smaller budget a company would give to a 69p game is mostly to blame for lacking AI and gameplay, compared to a blockbuster £40+ console game. Decent AI and gameplay require a devoted dev, not extra processing speed or RAM.
nofi
“They’re not even close. Two games have graphics close but their AI and gameplay are far, far poorer. It’ll be five years until mobile games come close to the console games of today – let alone then.”
The tech is close, even if the developers aren’t there yet. That’s what Chris said. In some cases (RAM) it’s already way ahead.
Bilbo_bobbins
you may be right cc-star, I am getting an ipad next week, so I can then make a true opinion on the gaming side of tablets, but I just feel, playing on a console, they seem to offer more, it feels better and not as gimmicking….at the moment anyway.
Tuffcub
But no one is going to pay £40 for an ipad game.
djhsecondnature
@nofi – That may very well be true, but the hardware of the current consoles are 6-8 years old now. It’ll be quite likely that the next generation will outstrip them tech wise, and software wise by some stretch.
cc_star
I’m not sure what you’re not understanding Tuffcub
Why £40? I’ve already showed you in the vids I linked to above what’s currently available for free to a few pounds & a few exclusives aside rival almost all of the stuff available for home consoles.
Where home consoles have the edge is their CPU power which gives rise to better AI & in the case of the PS3 to have other tasks offloaded to it thanks to its limitations elsewhere.
But if a controller was made for the tablet market leader I’m sure it would drive a boom in these types of games, which haven’t currently been developed as there hasn’t been a way of playing them until possibly now, & if so could capture a sizeable share of the market, leaving the established players fighting over scraps, much like they have done in the mobile world.
Tuffcub
I understand everything perfectly, you are just wrong :)
hazelam
but for the price of an ipad, you could probably get a ps3 and a 360.
hell a ps3 and a vita might even be an option.
if to get the same experience you have to buy a joypad and then plug it into a tv then why not go for the consoles?
sbut they’re not portable though.
but then the Ipad isn’t exactly the most portable device either.
and you could still get a vita for portable gaming.
and once the Playstation Suite launches you might see comparable content on there.
the screen’s smaller, sure, but that makes it more portable.
and that big screen on the Ipad, it look really fragile to me.
i’ve never actually got my hands on one but it looks that way to me.
that said though, if money was no object, i’d love to get one of the new Ipads. ^_^
Dazbobaby
Just try playing Dungeon Defenders on a touch screen… it works but only just.
DJ Judas
Try playing anything on a touch screen that benefits from the tactile feedback of a button, key or stick, it just loses too much of the “feel” in the same way that using a controller with a racing game isn’t the same experience as using a wheel….. Or going back to the old favourite of controller simply being no match for keyboard+mouse in FPS games.
Sympozium
Mmm probably best for that Apple TV box or the tv thats rumoured or real? controllers are just awkward for portables unless you can connect idevices to the tv? I’m not sure of that though.
nofi
I’m assuming The New iPad (or whatever) will connect to both the controller and the Apple TV. Basically, how I see the next gen of consoles working too.
Makes perfect sense – for the ‘big’ console style games anyway.
colossalblue
they connect via air play to Apple TV or with an adapter you can buy to give HDMI output.
Also, an iPad standing on its Smart Cover is a much better display than the TV I was playing games on up until a couple of years ago (and a much better resolution than any TV if it’s the latest iPad)
nofi
“and a much better resolution than any TV if it’s the latest iPad”
This.
ron_mcphatty
So its turning the iPad into a hybrid portable/home-console machine? Superb. I wonder if Sony will jump on the bandwagon? They bloody should. The UK Vita site says ‘No’ to using a dualshock when controlling the Vita, what a big mistake they’re making.
KeRaSh
Resolution: Yay
Aspec ratio: Nay
I’ll stick with my TV…
cc_star
Having set up my Android tablet & phone with my PS3 controller a process much, much easier than I thought it would be, it’s a revelation.
I can play games, emulators & OnLive with ease… add-in mirroring to TV & I have an instant home & portable console combined
& before anyone poo poos mobile games they’re just about at the point where they rival AA quality console games anyway, but take a tenth of the time to load and naturally come in a convenient home or mobile form factor by design.
nofi
And are cheaper.
I’d imagine a decent Android and a Dual Shock would put me in emulator heaven.
3shirts
Indeed, I have an Xperia S and with a sixaxis paired to it, it really is like having all my favourite classics in my pocket. It’s great fun.
With the HDMI out as well, I can play them all on my HD telly and lol at the pixels
3shirts
Yeah but we’re in the era of AAAA games now remember :p
colossalblue
I was trying to pair my OnLive Bluetooth controller with my iPad at the weekend for GTA III but they won’t talk to each other at all. Although the OnLive BT controller doesn’t work outside of OnLive, apparently, which is still not fully available on iOS.
But yes, I want this very much.
nofi
Especially if Johnny Ive is behind it. Dreamy.
mugsybalone
The robot from Short Circuit? Odd.
cc_star
OnLive only works with OnLive console (not even the PC app) although they are/have released a universal controller which works as you’d expect with other stuff.
KeRaSh
Yeah because selling an extra controller to people is better than letting them use their existing controllers. /s
3shirts
That is the Apple way. They say it is protect the user experience which, to an extent, is true but it does help that they can keep everything nice and controlled and keep competition for accessories like this down
nofi
Someone at Sony and Nintendo just went “oh shit”.
skibadee
if you say so.
Tuffcub
Give people a controller and they are going to expect console quality games. Shove a £40 game on iTunes and see how well that does.
nofi
It’s not like the Vita titles have really blitzed though, is it? £40 is too much for portables, regardless of platform.
skibadee
I never paid more than 30 for any of the games I got on my Vita. with respect they are way better than what apple has to offer.
nofi
Better games? Of course they are. But the point is that developers have a much better chance of selling a load of copies when they’re cheaper.
Tuffcub
But.. Ipad isnt portable.. You yourself in a post above say
“I’m assuming The New iPad (or whatever) will connect to both the controller and the Apple TV. Basically, how I see the next gen of consoles working too.
Makes perfect sense – for the ‘big’ console style games anyway.”
So you are saying this IS going againts the PS4 and 720.
And I am saying, Apple owners wont pay £40 for games and Apple games will cost that much to cover development costs.
nofi
Why though? If they can sell more, they can sell for cheaper. Also, no shelf space needed, no box, no cut to manufacturer (yeah, Apple, I know) or publisher.
Games don’t have to be £40 to be “console quality”.
djhsecondnature
“Games don’t have to be £40 to be “console quality”.”
No they don’t have to be, and really they shouldn’t be, but almost all of them are. I’d much rather see the standard price for games to drop by a tenner to see if people would buy more/trade-in less.
BrendanCalls
This is by far the best idea of a tablet controller I have come across
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7geeVG92I
I’m not sure what status the controller is in now, but I hope its near completion and adaptable for all kinds of tablets
Bilbo_bobbins
this was posted on tsa I think? Either way, its ugly and too big for my liking. If it was an ipad and linked to tv via Airplay and had a normal controller I would think about it, but that is just horrendous IMO.
BrendanCalls
Yeah, more than likely where I seen it, or on the twitter feed of someone from TSA. I like it, I cant see any other way that the advantages of both styles of control could be effectively melded together.
skibadee
guess if you like this kind of thing great not interested even when I had a ipad 2 the games were weak sauce imo.
The Lone Steven
But touchscreen was invented by a demon living in the underworld!*dons tinfoil hat* :p
Whilst an ipad controller is a good idea, there is one massive flaw with it, it won’t be very portable as i doubt that the Ipad can be held in one hand and the controller in the next. You could try to balance it on your lap but i think it would cause your neck to hurt after a while. Unless the controller can clip onto the Ipad.
djhsecondnature
Few things I’d want less in the tech world.
The additional cost to do so for games that are nowhere near what a console or PC can currently offer, for an far greater overall price than either, and then sacrificing the best features of the iPad (touchscreen)?
No thanks.